As more people are becoming aware of the pleasures of Mediterranean cooking, I thought it would be fun to go straight to the source. I asked my friend, Nicole Chedid, the wife of the Ambassador of Lebanon, for some classic Lebanese recipes. With typically warm Lebanese hospitality she invited me for lunch and served two of her favorites. You may know Baba Ghanouj, the classic roasted eggplant dish, fragrant with garlic, spices, and olive oil, and served as a first […]
In the world of food blogs, there seems to be a clear delineation between people who create their own recipes and those who adapt or share recipes created by others. Personally, I don’t think it matters, as long as you’re passing along something you’ve tested carefully, and honestly feel the recipe is worth sharing with others. But I do admire the creators: Love and Lemons and 101 Cookbooks have got it goin’ on. It’s pretty hard to be completely original […]
I love the crisp, clean flavors of Asian food; it has such crunch, color, and so many different textures. It can also be deceivingly simple to make. This is one of my go-to recipes when we’re having friends for dinner. I like to serve it with a vegetarian spring roll to begin, and follow it with an Asian-inspired dessert, like lychee ice cream with homemade fortune cookies. (The fortune cookie recipe is coming soon – have no fear! We’ve had some rollicking […]
Many years ago, my husband became friends with Senator John McCain. He worked for him on his presidential campaign, and has always admired the Senator’s independent and principled stands in the Senate. Earlier this week we gave a dinner in his honor, and I wanted to make the meal as straightforward as the honoree. Dinner was built around Senator McCain’s favorite two foods, hot dogs and chocolate. This gave me the perfect opportunity to put together a menu of easy […]
